Making Sense of Science for Superior Health and Effective Weight Management

Dr. Fuhrman Answers Your Questions
Answers to diet and nutrition questions sent in by readers

By Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

For those who want a fuller understanding of Dr. Fuhrman’s scientific approach to diet and nutrition,reading his latest book,Eat To Live, is a must.Keep in mind that this book is primarily designed for those who desire weight loss, so it describes a diet with generally fewer calories and less fat than he would recommend for an active, thin person, an athlete, or a growing child.

Below are some of the questions that readers have been asking about Dr. Fuhrman’s diet and nutritional recommendations.

Do you recommend the same diet to all of your patients?

As a specialist in nutritional medicine, I take into account multiple individual factors before making dietary recommendations. My recommendations are influenced by an individual’s existing medical conditions, food intolerances, family history, food preferences, body type, and the analysis of blood test results, such as fatty-acid levels.All my diets have certain qualities in common, but I do not recommend the exact same diet for everyone.

Is your diet a low-fat diet?

I have low-fat and higher-fat versionsof my diet.The fat content can vary considerably on my diet, depending on an individual’s body structure and activity level. For example, my family and I are very physically active and exercise quite a lot,so we eat a higher-fat version of my diet. We eat avocados daily and eat larger portions of nuts and seeds than I typically would recommend to patients who need to lose weight.

I am not fat-phobic any more than I am protein- or carbohydratephobic. Higher-fat diets can be healthy for many people, as long as they are designed to contain the right type of healthy fat. By healthy fat, I mean fats obtained from raw natural foods such as walnuts, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds, and as long as the extra fat calories consumed are utilized (burned off) from physical activity or exercise and not converted to body fat. For example, I encourage my fifteen-year-old daughter who is a USTA tournament tennis player to eat more nuts and seeds because she exercises three to four hours per day and weighs 105 pounds. So, a diet with 10-15 percent of calories from fat might be right for some people, but I might recommend a diet with 20-30 percent of calories from fat for others.

Are the diets you recommend vegetarian or vegan?

I have vegan versions of my diet and versions that include small amounts of animal products. About half my patients choose a vegetarian or vegan diet,and the other half choose to include some animal products. Generally, certain diseases (such as psoriasis and lupus) respond better when animal products are completely excluded. But, for those who do not desire to completely eliminate animal products, I permit two include animal products in their diets either use them on alternating evenings (with the other evenings being vegetarian nights), or they use very small amounts as condiments in soups or vegetable dishes. Many of my patients follow a completely vegan diet and only eat animal products on special occasions, or when going out to a restaurant (once a week or less).

Whether you are a strict vegetarian or not, your diet still must be plant-predominant. Limiting the amount of animal products you consume is necessary to achieve optimal health and to maximally reduce cancer risk. A vegetarian or vegan diet may be healthy or unhealthy, depending on food choices, but a diet similar to the one most Americans consume, that contains a significant amount of animal products, cannot be made healthful.

Is your diet program similar to those of Dr. John McDougall or
Dr. Dean Ornish?

There are some similarities, but there also are significant differences. Both Ornish and McDougall recommend similar diets,which are centered around starchy vegetables such as potato and rice. My diet has a higher percentage of calories from raw vegetables, steamed greens, and fresh fruit. Also, while I encourage people to eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, I recognize that a diet still can be healthy if it includes a small amount of animal products. Those not willing to follow a vegan diet still can get the benefits of my highphytochemical cuisine. Similarly, I recognize that while healthful vegan diets are vastly superior to the conventional American diet, they still have certain nutritional limitations. Because there is limited availability of vitamin B12 and vitamin D in vegan diets (and possibly DHA fat for some people), I recommend that individuals on vegan
diets take nutritional supplements.